Wayside Gospel Chapel: Pastor's Sermon Notes: The Last Word (Acts 28:30-31)

The Last Word

Acts 28:30-31

30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Introduction:

Notice what chapters are listed for today on “This Week’s Bible Reading Schedule” on the back of your bulletin! I did not set this reading schedule up, and there is no such thing as coincidence!

The sermon series on Acts began on June 16, 2013. This is the 78th sermon in this series.

It has been quite a “voyage” with the Acts of the Ascended Lord by His Holy Spirit through His Apostles from Jerusalem to Rome!

Outline:

I. A Wonderful Triple Emphasis (28:30)

II. A Continuing Two-fold Ministry (28:31a-b)

III. A Triumphant Double Description (28:31c-d)

Each of these points contain answers to questions that Bible students, like reporters or detectives, should ask: who, what, when, where, why, how, how long, and so what?

I. A Wonderful Triple Emphasis (28:30)

And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,

The duration, location and audience information related here answer the questions concerning “how long,” “where,” and “who.”

The emphasis here might be missed unless the verse was rewritten minus the three emphatic words:

“And Paul dwelt two years in his hired house, and received [those] that came in unto him.”

The three missing words are all adjectives, which when occuring independently of each other would not be seen as having the degree of emphasis that they do here. However, the cumulative effect of all three adjectives together in this first part of the complex sentence which encompasses these two verses should not be missed.

1. Whole - temporal duration[1] - how long

And Paul dwelt two whole years

The word translated “two years” is only found in the NT here and in 24:27.[2]

It was during this two year period that Paul’s “Prison Epistles” were written. He had already written Galatians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Corinthians and Romans, but now he would write Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians. His “Pastoral Epistles” are believed to have been written later, following his release from this confinement, and prior to his final imprisonment.

2. Own - geographical location - where

in his own hired house[3]

Trans	Acts 28:30
KJV	And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
NASB	And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters [Or at his own expense] and was welcoming all who came to him,
ESV	He lived there two whole years at his own expense *[Or in his own hired dwelling]*, and welcomed all who came to him,
HCSB	Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him,
NIV	For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.
NLT	For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense.* *[Or in his own rented quarters.]* He welcomed all who visited him,

3. All - personal congregation - who

and received all that came in unto him

Phil. 1:12-14 — 12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

II. A Continuing Two-fold Ministry (28:31a-b)

Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ,

This is the “what” that describes the content of Paul’s ministry as the book of Acts closes.

1. Preaching the kingdom of God

Mt. 4:23 — And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Mt. 12:28 — But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Mt. 13:19 — When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Acts 20:25 — And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

2. Teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 8:12 — But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 28:23 — And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

III. A Triumphant Double Description (28:31c-d)

with all confidence, no man forbidding him

This is the “how” that describes the manner in which Paul conducted his ministry in Rome as the door closes on this inspired historical account.

1. All confidence - no hesitation[4]

Why with all confidence?

What was the source of or basis for this total confidence?

What would have been the effect of this absolute confidence?

What power would this have added to the preaching and teaching?

This emphasis caps an a remarkable theme noted since the Jerusalem Pentecost, and woven throughout the Acts of the Ascended Lord by His Holy Spirit through His Apostles and others.[5]

Acts 2:29 — Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Acts 4:13 — Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:29 — And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Acts 4:31 — And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 9:27-28 — 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

Acts 13:46 — Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Acts 14:3 — Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Acts 18:26 — And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Acts 19:8 — And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 26:26 — For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

The Apostle Paul remarks on this in the epistles that he wrote to the churches he planted in Asia during this two year period.

Eph. 6:17-20 — 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

2. No Hindrance - no forbidding

no opposition, limitation or persecution

The book ends with a single word in the original[6] striking a powerful final note:

NASB: “unhindered”

ESV, HCSB, NIV: “without hindrance”

NET Bible: “without restriction”

NLT: “And no one tried to stop him.”[7]

The Gospel is going forth in Rome unshackled!

2 Tim. 2:9 — Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

Perhaps you have heard the radio program "Unshackled."

“Real people...real life stories...stirring, dramatic accounts of hopelessness, and the hope that changes everything. "UNSHACKLED!" the award-winning radio drama fromPacific Garden Mission in Chicago, grips the heart with compelling and relevant stories of transformed lives.

Without Jesus Christ, we are all shackled by sin — by our wrong choices, disobedience and selfish motives. But God is at work, and the power of Christ sets us free of our bondage. We are... "UNSHACKLED!"

Since 1950, Pacific Garden Mission has produced this unique series, making "UNSHACKLED!" the longest-running radio drama in history. Still produced in the style of the "Golden Age" of radio, every element is live at the time of the production — the original music, the creative sound effects and, of course, the dynamic performances of talented professional actors.

Today "UNSHACKLED!" is broadcast around the world almost 14,000 times each week on over 2,900 radio outlets. In addition to the English broadcast, it is translated and re-dramatized in Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Korean, Japanese, Farsi, Albanian, Greek, Macedonian, Turkish, Portuguese, and Mandarin.”[8]

Conclusion:

The NIV ends this book with an exclamation point, and that is as it should be.

“In fact the last verse of Acts could be taken as a summary of the whole book.”[9]

The ascended and enthroned Lord Jesus Christ has the last word.

His Apostle is in human chains administered by Imperial Rome for Caesar.

His Word is not bound.

His Apostle is free to minister His Word.

His acts by His Spirit through His Apostle continue from this house throughout Rome and the rest of the empire.

Yes, an exclamation point is appropriate here at the end, especially given what has transpired since the resurrection of the Crucified Messiah as recorded in Luke’s inspired text!

The ascended and enthroned Lord Jesus Christ has the last word, and it is “unhindered.”

“What can stop his witness?”[10]

“…who can defeat this gospel?”[11]

This story continues. The conclusion has not been written. It continues now, here and now, with you and me, and will do so until the Lord Jesus Christ brings the conclusion![12]

Complete outline:

I. A Wonderful Triple Emphasis (28:30)

II. A Continuing Two-fold Ministry (28:31a-b)

III. A Triumphant Double Description (28:31c-d)

[Sermon preached 14 JUN 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Appendix 1 — Resources cited in Notes

F. Blass, and A. Debrunner, trans. and rev. Robert W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 9th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961).

Ernest De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978 reprint of 1900 edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago).

George Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies, trans. Alexander Grieve (Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications, n.d.; 1979 reprint of the 1923 T. & T. Clark printing).

James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyrii and other Non-literary Sources, one-volume ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1976 reprint; from 1930 orig. by Hodder & Stoughton, London).

C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959, 1953).

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).

John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).

A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934).

Nigel Turner, Syntax, Vol. III in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963).

Unshackled at http://www.unshackled.org/ [accessed 12 JUN 2015].

William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).

Appendix 2 — New Testament Greek Texts, Grammars, and Vocabulary Works Consulted

1. Greek Text

The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed., eds. Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren (Stuttgart, FRG: United Bible Societies and Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993, 1994).

The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text, 2nd ed., ed. Zane C. Hodges, Arthur L. Farstad, et al. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985).

The New Testament in the Original Greek, rev. Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1949).

New Testament Transcripts Prototype at the University of Münster Institute for New Testament Textual Research at http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv [accessed 12 JUN 2015].

Novum Testamentum Graece, eds. Eberhard and Erwin Nestle, 27^th ed., eds. Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1898, 1993).

Maurice Robinson, Elzevir Textus Receptus (1624): With morphology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002).

Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont, The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2005 (Southborough, MA: Chilton Book Publishing, 2006).

Scrivener’s Textus Receptus (1894): With morphology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002).

Stephen’s 1550 Textus Receptus: With morphology (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002).

2. Greek Grammar

F. Blass, and A. Debrunner, trans. and rev. Robert W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 9th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961).

Ernest De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978 reprint of 1900 edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago).

H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto: The Macmillan Co., 1927, 1955).

C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959, 1953).

James Hope Moulton, Prolegomena, 3rd ed., Vol. I in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, n.d.).

A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934).

Nigel Turner, Syntax, Vol. III in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963).

Nigel Turner, Style, Vol. IV in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1976).

G. B. Winer A Treatise on the Grammar of New Testament Greek: Regarded as a Sure Basis for New Testament Exegesis, 3rd ed., trans. W. F. Moulton, 9th ed. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1882).

3. Greek Vocabulary

Colin Brown, gen. ed., The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3 vols., English ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971, 1978 ; trans. from Germ. original, Theologisches Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament by Theologischer Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal).

George Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies, trans. Alexander Grieve (Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications, n.d.; 1979 reprint of the 1923 T. & T. Clark printing).

Adolf Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East: The New Testament Illustrated by Recently Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World, 4th rev. ed. of Licht vom Osten (Tübingen, 1909, 1923), trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, n.d.; 1978 ed.).

Adolf Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson (New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).

Gerhard Kittel, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols., trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967).

Johannes P. Louw, and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 2 vols., 2nd ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1988, 1966, elec. ed. 1996).

Appendix 3 — Resources on Acts

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.

Paul Barnett, The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005).

Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).

Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997).

I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).

John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).

Richard Belward Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition, Oxford Commentaries, ed. Walter Lock (London: Methuen & Co., 1901), on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=T4f9C9sTl9cC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 APR 2015]; and on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/actsapostlesane01rackgoog [accessed 25 APR 2015]; 8th ed., Westminster Commentaries, ed. Walter Lock (London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1919) at https://archive.org/details/actsofapostlesex00rack [accessed 25 APR 2015].

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).

W. C. van Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1 (OCT 1960), pp. 26-59; reprinted in The Composition of Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum, compiled by David E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s Readers in Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.

Appendix 4 — Resources on Paul

Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977).

D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), pp. 496-501.

W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Adolf Deissmann, Paul: A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson (New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).

F. W. Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and Letters”, in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., "Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center on Westminster Theological Seminary at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].

Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 12 FEB 2013].

Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).

Richard N. Longenecker, Paul, Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).

Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life, Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

Richard N. Longenecker, Studies In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004).

J. Gresham Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1925).

Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955).

John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also published as The Man Who Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York: Doubleday, 1969).

Stanley E. Porter, Paul in Acts, in Library of Pauline Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).

W. M. Ramsay, The Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, Pauline and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

W. M. Ramsay, The Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf [accessed 13 FEB 2013].

A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008).

Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).

Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001).

James Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul with Dissertations on the Life and Writings of St. Luke, and the Ships and Navigation of the Ancients, 2nd ed. (London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, 1856); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/voyageandshipwr02smitgoog [accessed 23 APR 2015]; and 4th ed., rev. Walter E. Smith (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1880); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=IMsNAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 23 APR 2015].

James Stalker, The Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 7 FEB 2013].

James Ironside Still, St. Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).

End Notes:

[1] On this as an example of the usage of the historical aorist see: Ernest De Witt Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1978 reprint of 1900 edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago), pg. 20, §39(b), “An extended act or state, however prolonged in time, if viewed as constituting a single fact without reference to its progress.” See also C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959, 1953), pg. 13. Turner refers to this as the “Constative (summary) or Complexive aorist.” Nigel Turner, Syntax, Vol. III in James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963), pg. 72. Note: Turner’s description of this as being “a total yet punctiliar aspect” seems to contradict C. F. D. Moule’s reference to it as “the Aorist of verbs whose very sense seems to be essentially ‘linear’.”. Blass and Debrunner refer to this as the “complexive (constative) aorist,” and as used in this instance “for linear actions which (having been completed) are regarded as a whole. The external indication that the action is conceived as a whole is usually a temporal adjunct…(then this situation ceased).” F. Blass, and A. Debrunner, trans. and rev. Robert W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 9th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961), pg. 171, §332(1). For a good discussion of the different descriptions of this usage of the aorist including the confusion over linear versus punctiliar aspect see A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934), pp. 831-834.

[2] George Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies, trans. Alexander Grieve (Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications, n.d.; 1979 reprint of the 1923 T. & T. Clark printing), pg. 258; James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyrii and other Non-literary Sources, one-volume ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1976 reprint; from 1930 orig. by Hodder & Stoughton, London), pp. 160-161.

[3] μίσθωμα. See Moulton and Milligan, op. cit., pg. 414. “There seems to be no exact parallel to the usage in Ac 28:30…” Polhill is helpful in thinking through the difficulties translators face here. See John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992), pg. 545-546.

[4] The NLT minimizes the impact of these final words by attempting to combine them into one clause that only conveys the negative thought found in the last word: “And no one tried to stop him.” This is set off by punctiuation in the NLT as a separate sentence introduced by a coordinating conjunction that the translators were forced to supply since it does not occur in the original. Given the significance of the bold communication of the Gospel in the face of virulent opposition in the book of Acts (2:29; 4:13, 29, 31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26) and the Pauline corpus (Eph. 6:19-20; Phil. 1:13-14), the failure of the NLT to render this positive aspect as other translations have seems to be a glaring and unnecessary omission. On more than one count the NLT “drops the ball” at the close of this book of Acts, fumbling the translation inexplicably.

[5] On this see especially David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), pg. 723.

[6] ἀκωλύτως. On this word that only occurs here in the New Testament see Moulton and Milligan, op. cit., pg. 20. “The adverb becomes very common from ii/a.d. It is of constant occurrence in legal documents….the word is legal to the last. For the triumphant note on which it brings the Acts of the Apostles to a close, see Harnack Lukas der Arzt p. 116, Eng. Tr. p. 163f., and cf. Milligan Documents, p. 168.” See also Polhill, op. cit., pp. 545-546.

[7] See note 4 above for a critique of this translation.

[8] Unshackled at http://www.unshackled.org/ [accessed 12 JUN 2015].

[9] William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), pg. 190.

[10] Willimon, op. cit., pg. 191.

[11] Ibid.

[12] On this important point of application see especially Willimon, op. cit., pg. 192.

Wayside Gospel Chapel

Verse of the Day

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Pastor's Sermon Notes: The Last Word (Acts 28:30-31)

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